Who We Are
Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future. We offer transformative learning experiences to help educators and students create a better world.  Our home campus is a 1,400-acre working farm located on the traditional, unceded and contemporary homelands of the Winooskik band of the Abenaki.  

Commitment to Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Shelburne Farms recognizes that justice, equity, and access are central to sustainability. We are committed to translating these values into action across the organization by improving equitable outcomes in our culture, programs, and services.  Shelburne Farms is working to create experiences of belonging for all, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and people of all economic realities.

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Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network Coordinator

Position Title: Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network Coordinator              

Supervisor:  Farm to School Director

Employee Status: Year Round; Part-Time (20 - 24 hours/week on average)*

*Potential opportunity to work in various roles across the farm to build a full-time schedule (30+hours/week) which enables this position to be benefit-eligible. If interested, this will be discussed in your interview.

Exemption: Hourly; Non-Exempt

Location: Remote, hybrid or in-person (your choice)

Travel: Up to 20% travel throughout VT 

Salary Range:  $26 - $29/hour

Deadline to apply: 9/30/23

The Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network is seeking a motivated, collaborative, strategic and multi-skilled coordinator with a proven ability to foster coordination and alignment among diverse partners. The successful applicant will have excellent facilitation and communication skills, and will become a core part of Shelburne Farms and the Vermont FEED project’s staff team.

Background: The Vermont Farm to School Network was created in 2009 to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and advocacy to advance new and existing Farm to School efforts in Vermont classrooms, cafeterias and communities. Network members are identified by their participation in the statewide FTS Network listserv, Action Teams, collaborative projects and events.

Our Vision: Every Vermont student and school community is engaged in a local food and farm culture that nurtures children’s health, cultivates viable farms, and builds vibrant communities.

Since 2009, the Network has been guided by a Steering Committee called the Common Circle, and coordinated by one of the Steering Committee members: Vermont FEED. More information on the Network's background and structure can be found here.  

In 2014, the Network Steering Committee embarked on a systems mapping process to identify the key levers of change in the VT Farm to School system to create a systems level strategy for achieving our vision and for re-organizing the Network to take action. A shared goal for Vermont farm to school was identified (and updated in 2022):

Our Goal: By 2030, every educational community in Vermont connects classrooms, cafeterias, and communities with equitable access to integrated food system education, community-based learning, and 30% local food purchasing that promotes climate resilience and social justice. 

Sixty farm to school leaders representing 37 organizations participated in the process. The Network formed five Strategic Action Teams around five key levers of change to collaborate on a cohesive, integrated set of high impact projects that can move the Network towards its goal. The Network also created a Common Circle to serve as the coordinating body for activities and communication of the Network. In 2021, the VT Farm to Early Childhood Coalition was brought under the umbrella of the VT FTS Network and re-branded as the VT FTS&EC Network.

The Network has a “self-managing” structure with shared leadership and decision making, focused on the project-based work that must be done to achieve our collective goal. Vermont FEED, a project of Shelburne Farms and NOFA-VT,  serves as the backbone for the Network. 

Who We’re Looking for

You will be working with and across multiple interests and members to foster learning, collaboration, and innovation that advances our common goal. You will track progress toward goals, coordinate the efforts of Action Teams, manage Network events and assist with communications. A nuanced understanding of what it takes to affect systems change, particularly in the food system, is key.

You will work closely with, and be supervised by, Shelburne Farms’ Farm to School Director and will collaborate with other staff, Vermont FEED partners and Network members to provide backbone support to the Network, with the goal of strengthening the following Network attributes :

  • Awareness – of each Action Team’s strategies, activities and roles – and their progress relative to one another
  • Alignment – of each Action Team’s goals, strategies, activities and roles such that they support one another and the Network’s goal at large.
  • Action – effective implementation that advances the Network goal and its commitments to members, partners, and funders.
  • Centering diversity, equity and belonging

 

What You’ll Do

Network Coordination

  • Facilitate Monthly Common Circle calls
  • Plan and facilitate annual in-person Network gatherings 
  • Coordinate Action Team goal setting and strategies
  • Manage Network database
  • Build ongoing relationships, maintain positive partnerships with (and serve as a resource for) both statewide and regional partners and practitioners

Network Communications

  • Coordinate blog posts and other activities with Shelburne Farms communications staff
  • Activate listserv use, posting regular updates to the Network
  • Conduct outreach to engage new members
  • Serve as an ambassador for the vision, goals and work of the Network

Network Development

  • Draft progress reports for funders and the Network
  • Implement outreach and capacity-building efforts in the southwestern corner of the state

Network Strategy

  • Re-energize Action Teams
  • Revisit systems map levers
  • Engage new Network members and partners
  • Expand efforts to center equity
  • Strengthen the Network’s integration of early childhood stakeholders and goals

 

Core Qualifications 

  • Experience developing and maintaining highly collaborative relationships, including with public and private stakeholders
  • Outstanding facilitation skills and experience, including multi-stakeholder meetings and processes, both in-person and virtual
  • Excellent communications skills, both written and verbal
  • Project management: highly organized with attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
  • Experience with or strong interest in collaborative network and/or collective impact models 
  • Ability to grasp complex systems change strategies for collective impact
  • Comfort with multi-tasking, independent work environment with good time management skills
  • Comfort with technology that supports collaborative and remote work and communications, including Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, Zoom, Constant Contact, etc. 
  • Effectively communicate and connect with diverse groups of people and across lines of difference.
  • Knowledge of farm to school and early childhood in Vermont preferred

 

Additional Valued Qualifications

  • Strong personal commitment to the Network’s vision and goals
  • Reflective learner: self-aware and seeks to learn and refine skill set, eager for feedback and engaging in ongoing reflective practices
  • Accountability, flexibility/adaptability, attention to detail, sense of humor and enthusiasm
  • Ability to work remote as well as in a shared office space, with regular statewide travel 

 

Work Environment & Physical Demands

  • Sedentary role primarily working at a computer
  • Some travel throughout the state of Vermont (20% travel); primarily to Central and Southwest Vermont

Benefits 

  • If specific eligibility requirements are met, we offer a 401(k) with the potential for company match, paid sick time and a separate Covid sick pay plan. 
  • Additionally, we offer a 30% discount on Farm products and a CSA share from the farm.

Deadline to Apply

  • September 30, 2023

To Apply

Please submit an application and resume to jobs@shelburnefarms.org, with “Network Coordinator” in the subject line. 

All submissions will be acknowledged and are confidential.

  • Submit a resume and response to the following questions:

    • What about the Farm to School Network’s System Change strategy are you most excited to be a part of and help us achieve?
    • How do your experiences, values, and/or efforts demonstrate your commitment to the values of diversity, justice, and equity? 
    • How did you hear about the position?

 

Shelburne Farms is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Candidates with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences are strongly encouraged to apply. The duties and responsibilities described herein are not intended to be a complete and comprehensive list; additional tasks may be assigned to this position from time to time, and the scope of the position may change based on operational demands.

Salary/Wage:
$26-29/hour
Term:
Year Round
Time:
Part Time
Date Posted: August 25